416
with seedlings of local provenance. The first progeny trial was installed in Eldorado
(Beatriz Eibl, pers. comm.), the second one was established in Puerto Bossetti, and
a third was located in the Province of Buenos Aires. So far, very few results about
these trials have been published. In 1999, an internal report from Arauco SA
Company showed that the trial located in Puerto Bossetti had 401 individuals alive
corresponding to 33 progenies. The practically null seed production in the following
years in that reserve made it impossible to continue with the installation of further
trials as it was planned.
15.6.3 Base, Selected, Breeding, and Propagation Populations
for an Incipient Improvement Program in Argentina
After the decline in the cultivation of the species (since 1970), a new impulse in the
interest of cultivating native species as demanded by civil society started over the
last 15 years. Then, institutions such as FCF and INTA have resumed conservation
and breeding actions for A. angustifolia with varying intensity levels. Eibl et al.
(2016, 2017) mentioned the installation of a trial in 2014 with progenies coming
from Argentine natural stands of Bernardo de Irigoyen and San Pedro. Meanwhile,
in 2011, INTA initiated a conservation and breeding program for A. angustifolia
based on the old provenance and progeny tests, reproductive (palynological) studies, and genetic diversity analysis achieved with molecular markers. The new program intends to establish the bases for the management of the genetic resources of
the species in Argentina.
The main objectives of the program are (1) the generation of a base population to
initiate the genetic improvement of the species considering multiple cycles, (2) the
conservation of its genetic resources through in situ and ex situ strategies, and (3)
the creation of propagation populations for the production of seeds utilized in forestation and reforestation programs.
According to Zobel and Talbert (1984), the base population of a given cycle of
improvement consists of all available trees that could be selected. Generally, the
base population is very large, consisting of many thousands of genetically distinct
individuals. For A. angustifolia in Argentina, the base population could be built by
the old plantation and natural individuals of Manuel Belgrano Forest Station, the old
commercial plantations that remain in private companies, the mentioned provenance
tests installed in Argentina, and some dispersed, known individuals from the natural
forests. So far, the first activity of this program was the massal selection of the best
phenotypes within the Manuel Belgrano Forest Station, in the old plantations, since
this source is shown to be adapted to the local environmental conditions. Also, some
old commercial plantations belonging to private companies were also reviewed. The
selected population was built based on independent selection criteria and with the
help of data from preexisting inventories. The first selection criterion among the
planted trees was the average DBH of the stand plus two standard deviations. Also,
health and shape characters were considered, such as stem straightness and taper
M. E. Gauchat et al.
with seedlings of local provenance. The first progeny trial was installed in Eldorado
(Beatriz Eibl, pers. comm.), the second one was established in Puerto Bossetti, and
a third was located in the Province of Buenos Aires. So far, very few results about
these trials have been published. In 1999, an internal report from Arauco SA
Company showed that the trial located in Puerto Bossetti had 401 individuals alive
corresponding to 33 progenies. The practically null seed production in the following
years in that reserve made it impossible to continue with the installation of further
trials as it was planned.
15.6.3 Base, Selected, Breeding, and Propagation Populations
for an Incipient Improvement Program in Argentina
After the decline in the cultivation of the species (since 1970), a new impulse in the
interest of cultivating native species as demanded by civil society started over the
last 15 years. Then, institutions such as FCF and INTA have resumed conservation
and breeding actions for A. angustifolia with varying intensity levels. Eibl et al.
(2016, 2017) mentioned the installation of a trial in 2014 with progenies coming
from Argentine natural stands of Bernardo de Irigoyen and San Pedro. Meanwhile,
in 2011, INTA initiated a conservation and breeding program for A. angustifolia
based on the old provenance and progeny tests, reproductive (palynological) studies, and genetic diversity analysis achieved with molecular markers. The new program intends to establish the bases for the management of the genetic resources of
the species in Argentina.
The main objectives of the program are (1) the generation of a base population to
initiate the genetic improvement of the species considering multiple cycles, (2) the
conservation of its genetic resources through in situ and ex situ strategies, and (3)
the creation of propagation populations for the production of seeds utilized in forestation and reforestation programs.
According to Zobel and Talbert (1984), the base population of a given cycle of
improvement consists of all available trees that could be selected. Generally, the
base population is very large, consisting of many thousands of genetically distinct
individuals. For A. angustifolia in Argentina, the base population could be built by
the old plantation and natural individuals of Manuel Belgrano Forest Station, the old
commercial plantations that remain in private companies, the mentioned provenance
tests installed in Argentina, and some dispersed, known individuals from the natural
forests. So far, the first activity of this program was the massal selection of the best
phenotypes within the Manuel Belgrano Forest Station, in the old plantations, since
this source is shown to be adapted to the local environmental conditions. Also, some
old commercial plantations belonging to private companies were also reviewed. The
selected population was built based on independent selection criteria and with the
help of data from preexisting inventories. The first selection criterion among the
planted trees was the average DBH of the stand plus two standard deviations. Also,
health and shape characters were considered, such as stem straightness and taper
M. E. Gauchat et al.